String-bean slicer.



C. A. BECKER.

STRING BEAN SLICER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1917.

1 360,1 29. Patented-Mar. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

awmmto'c C. A. BECKER.

STRING BEAN SLICER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17. 1917.

1,260,129. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

CASPAR a. nnonnn. or sen Marne, CALIFC-RNIA.

STRING-BEAN SLICER.

Application filed -fievember 17, 1817.

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that l, Caspian A. BECKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Mateo, in the county of San Mateo and State of California, have invented new and useful improvements in String-Bean Slicers, of which the following is a specification.

T his invention comprehends the provision of a vegetable slicer, primarily designed for slicing string beans into equal parts, although it is susceptible for use in other analogous capacities.

Que important object of the invention resides in the provision of a construction which permits ready access to be had to the essential parts of the device for the purpose of repairing or cleaning the same.

in carrying out the invention 1 also form from a single piece of material, a combined hopper, and guards which overlie the cutting elements and gears of the device to protect the hands and fingers of the user from injury.

The nature and advantages of the invention will be better understood when the following detail description is in connection with the accompanying drawings, the invention residing in the constructi a, com-- bination and arrangement of parts as claimed.

dicate similar parts in the several v wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device constructed in accordance with my invcntion.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line l& of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the combined hopper and guards.

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the combined deflector and blade cleaner.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in detail 10 indicates a bracket plate, from one side of which a pair of spaced parallel lugs 11 project, while projecting from the lower end of the plate between said lugs is a bearing 12 upon which is mounted an adjustable screw threaded element 13 hav ing a disk or the like 14: swiveled upon its free extremity. The disk cooperates with the lugs 11 for clamping the device in its Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Serial No. 202,589.

entirety upon the edge of a table or other sui able support as will be readily under stood.

Secured in any suitable manner to the opposite side of the bracket plate 10 adjacent the upper extremity thereof is a substan ially U-shaped frame for supporting the mechanism of the device. The parallel portions 15 of the frame terminate to provide relatively wide upper edges 16, these edges forming in part bearings for the shafts l7 and 18 which extend transversely across the frame. Each of the said edges is pro vided with spaced depressions 19 for the reception of the extremities of said shafts, the said depressions unitedly defining with simi ar depressions 20 formed in the member 21,

bearings for said shafts. The members 21 form part of the frame structure, and are pivoted as at 22 upon the edges 16 for vertical swinging movement. The combined hopper and guard to be hereinafter more fully described is associated with the members 21 of the frame, and by reason of the fact that the said members are pivoted for vertical swinging movement, it is obvious that the combined hopper and guards may be elevated to permit ready access to be had to the movable parts of the mechanism for the purpose of repairing and cleaning the same as the occasion requires. The members 21 are coextensive in length with the edges 16. and pivoted to the opposite end of each of the edges 16 is a yoke 23 adapted to straddle the corresponding extremities of the members 21. A set screw 24 is associated with each yoke and when adiusted to bear against. the adjacent member 21, serves to hold the latter fixed relatively to the edge 16. In this manner the parts are held operatively associated, until it is desired to clean or repair the machine. at which time the set screw 2 is loosened, the vokes 23 swung outwardly and downwardly away from the members 21, to permit the latter together with the combined hopper and guard to be swung to an out of the way position.

Fixed upon the shaft 17 is a cog wheel 25 which meshes with a cog wheel 26 fixed upon the shaft 18. Also carried by the shaft 18 is a crank handle 27. and it is manifest that by turning the said handle both of the said. shafts are rotated in a direction toward each other. Mounted upon the shaft 17 for rotation therewith is a knurled grooved feed roller 28, while movable within the grooves 29 thereof are the peripheral edges of the cutting disks 30 which are fixed upon the shaft 18. The roller 28 may vary in length, and any number of cutting lades may be used consistent with the number of grooves in the roller. 7

A combined hopper and guard, clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 is used in connection with the device, and is preferably constructed from a single piece of material, the hopper being indicated at 31 and including side and end walls 32 and 33 respectively. The side walls extend across. the entire width of the device, while the end walls 33 are an anged inwardly from the edges of the side walls, and are spaced the requisite distance to lie in close proximity to the ends of the roller 28 to the outermost disks 30. In other words the end walls are disposed to direct the vegetables introduced into the hopper, in the proper direction to pass between the roller and cutters to insure sliding of the vegetables. The side walls 32 are slit at spaced parallel points to provide a plurality of separated portions, which vary in length and are properly curved to overlie theroller 28 and the cutting disks 30, these separated portions constituting guards to prevent the hand or fingers of the user of the device from coming in contact with said parts which will obviously result in injury to the hand when the machine is in operation. One of the side walls 32 of the'hopper is also formed to provide an extension 35 which overlies the gears 25, the extension 35 while disposed in parallelism with the adjacent portion 34, it is arranged in a different horizontal plane as shown.

A plate 36 is riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the base of the U-shaped frame, and including an obliquely disposed branch 37 disposed between the parallel sides of the frame and curved from its point of uncture with the plate 36 in the direction of the shaft 18. The branch 37 is of suitable length to extend from the shaft 17 to the forward edge of the base of the U-shaped frame, and serves to deflect the vegetables subsequent to the slicing of the latter, into a suit able receptacle arranged adjacent the support upon which the device is clamped. In

addition to this purpose, the branch 37 of the plate is formed with spaced parallel slots 38 in which the cutting disks 30 operate, and in this manner the branch 37 serves to prevent the vegetables from clinging to the cutting disks as the latter are rotated.

In practice the device is clamped upon the edge of the table or other suitable support, and the vegetables to be sliced, such as string beans or the like are introduced into the hopper and the crank handle turned. As the handle is turned the shafts 17 and 18 are rotated, and the feed roller 28 actuates to draw the string beans through the hopper between the roller and the cutting disks. As the shafts continue to rotate, the'vegetable is sliced into equal parts, the slices falling upon the branch 37 of the plate 36, from which they are discharged into a suitable receptacle arranged adjacent the support upon which the device is clamped. The component parts of the device may be constructed from any suitable material, size and configuration without departing from the spirit of the invention.

'VVhile it is believed that from the foregoing description the nature and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent, I desire to have it understood that what is herein shown and described is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention to which I do not limit myself, and that such changes in the construction, combination and arrangen'ient of parts may be resorted to when desired as fall within the scope of what is claimed.

What is claimed is In a vegetable slicer, the combination with a frame, cutting means carried thereby, of a hopper supported on said frame and including side and end walls, said side walls being slit at spaced intervals to provide portions which are extended over the rollers and blades, constituting guards for the latter, and an extension projecting from one of said side walls in the same direction as the adjacent guard but lying in a different horizontal plane, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CASPAR A. BECKER.

flopiee of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

